Prepare for High ACT Scores with the PLAN Assessment

Ever wondered how your ACT scores might turn out if you took ACT testing today? You can get a good idea of how you might score by taking the PLAN Assessment during your sophomore year. It can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses and give you a leg up on making plans for your academic and career future.

By identifying your strengths and weaknesses, it will also help your ACT prep, allowing you to focus on what's necessary. It's never too early to start laying the foundation for ACT test prep, like the free ACT practice tests found here at Peterson's, and any other ACT help you can line up.

ACT help: Why take the PLAN?

Before you start getting worked up over the idea of yet another standardized test, the first thing that you should know is that the PLAN is designed to help you, and your results won't affect your grades or your transcripts. It will help you focus your ACT test prep time and get you going in the right direction so you can put your time between now and college graduation to the best possible use. It's the first step to better ACT scores.

ACT help: Get the lay of the land

Wouldn't it be a relief to know ahead of time if your chances of acing the ACT are good? The academic assessment portion of the PLAN mimics that of the ACT by measuring your skills in English, Math, Reading, and Science. It takes about two hours to complete this portion, much like it would during actual ACT testing. While this may seem like a bummer of a way to spend a Saturday morning, it's an investment of time in your future and is time well spent.

ACT help: Get to know yourself

The PLAN is much more than an academic precursor to the ACT. The assessment also includes the UNIACT Interest Inventory, an interests and skills inventory that matches you with broad career fields which may be best suited for you. Since most fifteen and sixteen year olds probably aren't yet set on "what they want to do when they grow up," the UNIACT provides a great starting place for exploring where you might want to go.

ACT help: Hooking you up

The PLAN is also a college and financial aid planning tool. It includes the Educational Opportunity Service (EOS), a resource that looks at your academic profile and interests inventory and then matches you with colleges that may interest you, as well as with scholarships you may want to apply for.

The PLAN is an all-purpose instrument designed to help you plan for your future (in ACT prep, financial aid, and careers), not just another benchmark of your high school years. Make sure you use the opportunity during your sophomore year to take it and to gather valuable information about your potential for future greatness.

Peterson's has more than 40 years of experience in higher education, and the expert staff members here are all ready to leverage their considerable knowledge and experience to help you succeed on your educational journey. We have the information, the know-how, and the tools -- now all we need is you!

The ACT is a standardized college entrance exam that measures your knowledge and skills in English, mathematics, reading, and science reasoning, as well as your ability to apply these skills to future academic tasks.

The Writing Test is a 30-minute addition to standard ACT testing with a pretty straightforward format. After being provided paper to record your answer, you’ll be given a written prompt introducing your topic.

Each school makes its own decision about requiring your ACT scores from this portion of the test -- some require it, others don’t, and still others will accept it, but not require it. Sound complicated? It isn’t, really.